A cease and desist letter tells a collection agency to never contact you about your debt again. You’ve probably read that this is a powerful tool to get debt collectors off your back. Is it the best thing to do?

Little do people know that by sending the collection agency a cease and desist letter, you are leaving the collection agency with only one option: to file a lawsuit and have you served.

Cease and desist letters, first of all, let the collection agency know that you are the person they are pursuing and gives away the fact that you live at the address they sent the letter to.

So, now they know that you want no further contact, they know that you are the one they want and they know you live there. You have given them no other option but to sue you.

So think twice before sending a collection agency a cease and desist letter. Quit reading message boards that tell you to send a cease and desist letter.

A cease and desist letter should be used by people who know that their debt is way past the statute of limitations and they have proof to back that up so that when they are sued, it will get dismissed. But then again, if you know that the debt they are trying to collect is past the statute of limitations, why bother sending the cease and desist? Why not ignore it entirely? It’s your choice.

Do not assume that because you sent them a cease and desist letter that they just throw your debt out the window, because they don’t. They turn around and sue you because you basically told them to; you’ve left them no choice. You told them not to contact you anymore you so you forced them to sue you.

I cannot stand people on message boards who tell consumers to copy and paste some cease and desist letter or that this is some powerful tool to eliminate your debt. It’s not. It’s just a tool they can use to win against you.

Think twice before using a cease and desist letter because, yes, it is a powerful tool but for them, not you.